Herald & Lantern 21 Match '8«

21

POPULAR ITEM — Richard L. Baer of Avalon checks oat a suddenly popular item in Cape May County, bottled spring water. Court House Super

Fresh, where this photo was takes, reported little increase la sales, but die Acme Market in Cape May said sales had more than doubled and the Wawa in

Doris Want Stone Harbor said sales had quadrupled, requiring a “special rush order.” The price range seems to be 5* to 99 cents a gallon.

Sodium Problem Denied

(From Page 1) Mayor Rachel Sloan. “We’re concerned and we want to get to the bottom of this.” Ocean Qty Mayor Jack Bittner said he contacted the city’s water supplier, New Jersey Water Co., upon being informed of the high sodium levels and was told “they are below the 50 mg/1. Tm not saying the Health Department is wrong,” said Bittner. “But we contacted the supplier and his laboratory results are different. He is getting further clarification." The Health Department had reported its Feb. 28 samples found a well average of 112 mg/1 and a distribution system average of 71. “There’s something wrong here,” said Robert Lindquist, operations manager for New Jersey Water Co. in Linwood. “We sent one of our employes with the county and tested the same day and the exact same places. We have our tests done by a certified lab. We were well under 50 (mg/1). We are at a loss to understand the numbers they (the county) came up with.” Lindquist declined to reveal his specific numbers, saying “I don’t want to embarrass anybody. “We are very upset,” said Lindquist. “We are at the mercy of two different lab analyses ” Lindquist said the company routinely tests water in February and August and sends the results to the county. “Why didn’t they release them?" be asked. Lindquist said the company last Wednesday resampled two wells supplying Ocean City, but the results haven’t been received yet. La manna said the challenge from Avalon and Ocean City was “not uncommon. We’ve had our test results disputed in the past. But ours were done by properly qualified technicians in a properly certified lab at Stockton State College and we have to accept the test results. “Furthermore,” he said, “our own test results confirmed the DEP (Department of Environmental Protection) test in Stone Harbor.” , Asked to explain how some water systems could test higher than their wells, Lamanna said there “could have been a slug of salt water in the system. Sodium levels are not constant.” And be said salt water intrusion was “an assumption. We don’t have enough information, but naturally that’s our first assumption because we have a history of salt water intrusion.” A Herald-Lantern telephone survey asked officials in the other affected municipalities what they were doing in response to the Health Department’s alert: Stone Harbor Councilman Harry E. Strohmetz, designated as the borough’s spokesman on this issue, said “We don’t plan to do anything right now, until we get something more specific from the Health Department. It’s a county problem. “We’ve had these numbers for months,” Strohmetz added. The Health Department tests had found Stone Harbor's wells averaged 91.2 mg/1 and its distribution system 72.7. The DEP several weeks earlier found the wells averaging 65.8.

Sea Isle City Mayor Dominic C. Raffa, who also is chairman of the city's health board, said it will “try to restrict the use of water" by setting hours for lawn watering and curbing car-washing. He said this would be done, because “the more demand for wat^r, the more chances for salt water intrusion. “We’re in pretty good shape for this time of year,” said the mayor. The Health Department reported Sea Isle's wells averaged 61.3, its distribution system 47.4, the lowest of any of the barrier island communities. WIMwood “There’s something strange there,” said Dr. Stanley Horns tine, health officer. He pointed to the Health Department's report that the city’s wells averaged 38 mg/1, its distribution system 117.4, an unexplained discrepancy. Horns tine said the city will have independent testing done because “Our offshore (mainland) wells are very very low (in sodium), so I want to know why we’re getting salt water in the distribution.” Wildwood Crest John Pantalone, borough commission member and chairman of the local health board, pointed out the Crest uses Wildwood water and would await its independent testing. The county found a 78.7 sodium level in its drinking water. Cape May City Councilman Adrian S. Capehart, chairman of its health board, reported to City Council Monday night that cardiologists Robert Sorensen and Suketu Nanavati had said high sodium levels in the drinking water were nothing to be concerned about. The county had reported the city’s wells average 81.4 mg/1 and its distribution system 99.1. North Wildwood Administrator Thomas Flood said the sodium issue would be discussed at the next meeting of council’s Health and Charity Committee headed by Walter M. Shivers Jr. The county reported the borough’s water distribution system averaged 132.1.

Too Much Too Soon? FOLSOM — South Jersey Industries Inc., which recently acquired 27,000 Cape May County customers by purchasing New Jersey Natural Gas Co., said it will file for a 5 percent rate increase. The announcement eame after the firm reported 1963 consolidated earnings up 25 percent over 1962, earnings per-ahare up 20 percent over 1962, revenue up $37 million over 1962, and revenue for the first two months of this year $7.5 million ahead of last year.

Water Salty? Relax'— (From Page l) diets, not dieticians,” she concluded. Nanavati, who said he has hundreds of patients on low-sodium diets, said he was “not worried” about the salt content of the drinking water. “There will be no change in my treat- , ment as long as they are doing good,” be said. “Because the American Heart Association cautions you does not necessarily mean it harms you,” he said. “MANY PEOPLE DRINK little water,” said Nanavati. “Every food you 1 -eat — Coke, Pepsi, milk has a tremfndous amount of salt. It’s no problem for normal , people.” “I think there is more danger from sewer and septic tank pollution and the . danger of hepatitis," he said. Nanavati also said he "questions” the Health Department’s figures. He pointed to the example of Wildwood, where the county said wells tested at 38, but the distribution system 117, and said “something has to be wrong." He said he planned to have the drinking water at his home, office, and the homes of several patients tested. 1 A spokesman for the American Heart Association said that the average'(person uses 2-2 Vi quarts of water a day for\Jrinking (including coffee, tea and other beverages) and in cooking. He said the “basic diet allows for not more than 20 mg/1 of sodium to a quart of water. “If there is more sodium than this in a quart of water, you will have to use distilled water or. count the excess sodium in your day’s supply,” be said, quoting an AHA pamphlet furnished to physicians SODIUM IN DRINKING water was one topic at the quarterly meeting of the county's Public Health Advisory Commit-

tee meeting last Thursday. County public health coordinator Louis J. Lamanna said after the meeting that “the committee concurs there is not enough data for us to formulate any conclusions. They want us to continue to monitor and keep them well informed.” j Committee president Dr. Clayton Carr * told the Herald and Lantern that “I fed it is not any health hazard because the amount of sodium is not that high that it’s going to affect a patient on a moderately restricted salt diet." A general practitioner with hundreds of patients on low-sodium diets, Carr said he would make “no change in treatment, not ^unless I find a patient is not responding 'and I would have to restrict salt to a greater degree and then I might reconsider. But if the patient is under control, there would be no need to take further action.” * CARR ALSO questioned the apparent inconsistency of water distribution systems with more sodium than the wells. “I can't get this in my mind how that would happen,” be said. “One study is not enough. We have to pursue it and get more data." i.«manna ha« said monthly samples will be taken. He said this week that Cape May Point, Lower Township, Middle Township and Strathmere in Upper Township will be added to the testing schedule. And he said a program of testing private wells that supply water to individuals will be started “very, very soon.” “It's important that the public be aware of excessive sodium levels in the public supply, and it’s important your physician knows about it," be said. “We don’t like it, but we can learn to live with it. “How doctors utilize the information is a medical prerogative," he said, "but they'd have the information.”

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